1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus in which electronic substrates are vertically disposed along an inner side surface of a housing, and which can improve the radiation performance of the electronic substrates.
2. Related Art
In the following, an ink jet printer will be described as an example of the recording apparatus. Recently, advances have been made regarding the miniaturization of ink jet printers. In order to achieve the efficient use of space in the housing, printers in which the electronic substrates are vertically disposed along the inner side surface of the housing have made an appearance. In addition, thanks to this arrangement of the electronic substrates, the ink jet printer becomes easy to assemble. Since shield plates are provided in parallel with the electronic substrate for protection against magnetic force, the arrangement is also helpful in preventing the electronic substrate from being covered with the ink mist which is ejected from the recording heads and floats in the housing.
However, in such an arrangement of the electronic substrates, since the electronic substrates are disposed in a narrow space surrounded on every side, a countermeasure about the thermal radiation of the electronic components mounted on the electronic substrates becomes problematic. Further, the recording heads are manufactured at a high density and in many arrays, and operate at high speed. In addition, the apparatus is enhanced by the incorporation of numerous other functions such as those of facsimiles and scanners. In consideration of the circumstances, the countermeasure about the thermal radiation of the electronic components is an urgent problem.
In addition, in the following JP-A-2004-117589, an image forming apparatus in which opening portions are formed to discharge heat or vapor generated in the housing is disclosed. Further, in the following JP-A-2004-142192, the recording apparatus is disclosed in which the ventilation holes are formed in the side surfaces and the rear surface of the substrate box in order to prevent the attachment of paper dust to the electronic substrates.
However, it is impossible to effectively cool the heated electronic components and to radiate the heat only by providing the opening portions as disclosed in JP-A-2004-117589 or the ventilation holes as disclosed in JP-A-2004-142192. On the other hand, when a number of ventilation holes are disposed in the opening portions, it can be expected that the thermal effect will be improved. However, this causes deterioration in the moldability, appearance, and mechanical strength of the housing. In addition, it is conceivable that cooling fans could also be used in conjunction with the above, but that would cause the component cost and the power consumption to increase and the countermeasure of noise caused by the cooling fans would also be problematic.